On February 3rd, 2023, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported on a Russian sponsored network aiming to push the Kremlin’s interests abroad through various interference operations. Leaked email documents indicate that Russian Duma staffer and advisor Sargis Mirzakhanian founded and led the International Agency for Current Policy to offer payments to European lawmakers for pushing pro-Kremlin resolutions and spreading Russian propaganda in European media outlets. The network also organized trips for politicians and businessmen, for instance to the Yalta Economic Forum. It also invited delegations to observe elections in Russia and Russian-annexed Crimea. The leaked emails extend over a period of ten years, running from March 2007 and September 2017. It remains unclear whether the network is still active.
Duma staffer offered payments to European lawmakers for promoting Kremlin agenda